About

Mitchell Hamline School of Law, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a top law school for students seeking a practical legal education. Mitchell Hamline offers traditional full- and part-time programs as well as the only half on-campus/half online J.D. program at an ABA-approved law school.

Special programs for focused study

Mitchell Hamline offers students specialized instruction across a range of areas. Our Dispute Resolution Institute has been ranked among the top 5 programs of its kind by U.S. News & World Report for the last 18 years, and our health law program is ranked 11th in the nation on the strength of our Health Law Institute. Those are just two of our most prominent centers and institutes.

Mitchell Hamline Centers and Institutes

Center for Law and Business

William Mitchell and Hamline Law had long histories of providing a curriculum in law and business for students. The combination of the two schools has blended the best of both programs and the Center for Law and Business at Mitchell Hamline is committed to providing law students with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to succeed as business leaders, business managers, and business lawyers.

Dispute Resolution Institute

Dispute resolution is at the core of the Mitchell Hamline law curriculum because it teaches identification of interests, mutual understanding, creative problem solving, and artful negotiation—all skills that contribute to the Dispute Resolution Institute’s concentration, offering rigorous academic discourse, hands-on simulation experience, and cross-disciplinary examination of conflict theory, advocacy, and problem-solving for law students, lawyers, and other professionals.

For the 18th consecutive year, Mitchell Hamline’s Dispute Resolution Institute is ranked in the top 5 dispute resolution programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Health Law Institute

Our Health Law Institute is the primary reason why Mitchell Hamline’s health law program was ranked 11th nationally by latest U.S. News & World Report specialty ranking. Through specialized courses and experiential learning, we provide students with real-life health law experience. The Institute’s national speaker series and advanced courses for working professionals take education beyond law students to the Upper Midwest’s accomplished community of health care attorneys, practitioners, and business professionals.

Indian Law Program

Mitchell Hamline’s Indian Law Program emphasizes practical legal education. Students learn from professors who have spent their careers working with Indian tribes. Our Indian law professors have worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, nonprofit corporations providing technical assistance to tribes, large law firms with Indian law practices, boutique firms focusing solely on Indian law, and Indian tribes themselves. They are scholars and practitioners with real-world experience.

Institute for Children, Families, and Communities

The mission of the Institute for Children, Families, and Communities at Mitchell Hamline is to be a leading national voice for best practices in the key areas of law affecting children and families. The institute is anchored by the Child Protection Program, created in 2013 to address systemic issues with parent representation and advocacy within the child protection system, and the Zero Abuse Project, launched in 2017 with the goal of preventing, recognizing, and responding to child abuse nationwide. The launch of the institute in July 2018 significantly increased Mitchell Hamline’s ability to provide innovative training and experiential opportunities for students and expanded the school’s capacity to engage in evidence-based research and legislative policy work.

Intellectual Property Institute

Innovation drives the world economy. Prepare to take the driver’s seat at Mitchell Hamline’s Intellectual Property Institute. The IP Institute offers a robust curriculum taught by faculty experts recognized locally and around the world. Mitchell Hamline IP students benefit from access to some of the world’s leading innovators at 3M, Cargill, Medtronic, and more.

Public Health Law Center

The Public Health Law Center is a national nonprofit law and policy organization that helps health leaders, officials, and advocates use the law to advance public health. Founded in 2000, our organization is a leader in U.S. public health policy, and a respected legal resource for dozens of local, state, national, and international health organizations.